Evolution, peace and happiness

Evolution, peace and happinessUnderstanding competition model: the next step in human education for a new economic model

Transforming laws and institutional procedures while allowing human creativity to be in the service of the highest possible human aspirations, in such a way as to deliver peace and happiness to all, is a finer art than most decision makers are ready to admit. Modern science is strictly defined in relation with financial markets. Even though one of the main conditions for human happiness is peace, either within one’s brain, or amongst many, the “science for peace” is still struggling to evolve. Social scientists know that the “low market value” of such studies and experiments makes financing for such projects almost impossible.

Imagining an overall positive, non-competitive, market-free world scenario equals today with any good SF book. Economically rich countries calling themselves “civilised”, valuing education and encouraging development are still quite far away from allowing a “science for peace and human happiness” to take shape. Such vital issues for human kind, as if they were a luxury, are left in the hands of “light game players” or politicians who usually are not scientists. Even if they were, they won’t have sufficient time allowed to perform any science. All serious investment must “deliver” before the end of mandate. Political deliveries have a tendency to repeat the same patterns which are not designed to produce happy nations.

Hunger, fear and agglomeration make most people aggressive. Our current “social order” model dominated by a competitive economy is, unfortunately, the result of a collective post traumatic syndrome caused by hunger and very rough survival challenges. Human kind never won the fight against the nature. It only artificially transformed some external, harsh conditions of living into internal greed of the mind, continuing the (same) battle in a more dangerous way, against itself, increasing the complexity of weaponry, and building new enemies to make sure the weapons will continue to be produced and sold, for an artificial “profit”. The illness grew, and the model of self-destruction started to be shown as a positive model: the competitive model where “the winner takes it all” and the loser must die or worse, go hungry forever, being enslaved within the “market economy” which is permanently hungry, generating collateral damages. So much so, that in order to maintain a product or service on the market artificial needs are created, continuously.

When the rule makers will become “evolved” they will replace the market value of goods and services by universal value of human existence and transform the economic models to serve human needs, creating happiness. Market indicators are to be created, it is true, since human existence is closely connected to non- perishable values. Universal ones, rewarding us all with Happiness if we play our cards right. Happiness is not to be found “on the market” therefore new attempts could be made beyond, to serve the creation of new, better economic models.

Happiness is not yet a scientific term, because it does not serve the current economic model. However individuals have a clearly expressed aspiration “to be happy” which is not sufficiently addressed by the science. Being able to buy products and services from the market is usually felt as a positive, pleasant experience, however not necessarily a “happy” one, or long lasting. It is perceived as a “positive exchange” or “enriching experience” with a “universe ruled by values”, on a smaller scale, which we seem to like, maybe because the market plays with “money values” in a similar way as human mind is playing with the truth…

If happiness will ever become a science, it will probably reveal the humans’ supreme loss, over history. The current “market exchange” of human truth (e.g. the hope to be-come happy) against fake and misleading values measured in money deepens the human anxiety. Many think they would be happy if they would have money, which is economic power, but they forget (or never knew!) that economic power does not belong to the realm of human truth. It only belongs to the realm of a “power game” which is not happiness. If human mind would have reached a sufficient level of sophistication/ evolution, so far, we would already play a different game, aiming for happiness.

This is how, and why, the richest people in the world may be the unhappiest individuals, if they allow themselves to be consumed by excessive attention to fake values which do not belong to human truth. If we could name a noble and truly powerful mission for them, we could propose transforming human mind-models towards happiness. Everywhere. Understanding and transforming the competition model, sooner rather than later, may prevent further toxic greed, illness, poverty, crimes, wars and further destruction. Of course there would be a few hundred philosophers and inspired social economists able to provide good models for a happy world, yet not being heard by the other few hundred of extremely rich and anxious business men who have “no time for happiness”, being satisfied with buying and selling what they can, when they can and effectively influencing political decisions when business needs require it. In the name of the “market” we forget about happiness. Is this the future?

Taking human interaction models consciously to new levels is pure science and requires appropriate investment in relevant experimentation. Building better decision making models and new models of governance that transform the existing models is a very challenging, yet beautiful mission. One needs excellent analytic rigour, as well as top imaginative skills to come up with a working model, then test it. In this mission, succeeding means proving, demonstrating and convincing decision makers who belong to a very complex and heterogeneous cultural pool (dated mind-models mixed together in an uncoordinated, unbalanced way). It means bringing peace and consensus within and among governments, and businesses! Then tackle extra layers of complexity when it comes to “relations” (bilateral, multilateral etc) dominated by a destructive competitive model. The main question is “who wins?” instead of “how to make this work so that everybody is happy in the end, including those who are not in this room, or in this project?”

In daily practice of diplomatic profession, which is not, unfortunately, always supporting political missions, we can easily observe how vital information is sometimes left outside. We see how these decisions (based on selected and limited “truths”) lead to proliferation of war and disaster in some parts of the world. In Europe, things could also be better: peace and consensus among the Member States suffered measurable decline in recent years, resulting in one powerful member (UK) leaving the EU and a few others (Visegrad Group) talking peace and consensus rather among themselves, enlarging their distance from the West. Unfortunately, the absence of what we could call “urgent peace recovery procedure” is not only causing isolated, or small scale consequences. Current developments prove this point and we can only anticipate that the worst is yet to come if peace makers will not step in, to deliver some advice, or indication, about common happiness. Some, better than none!

Finding the existing “common ground” among nations and building more and more common ground, in NEW ways, is the very heart of social development that we seek in Europe and abroad. To build an “eco-system of peace” skilful architects and builders with new skills are needed. Ensuring a smooth & smart transition from older models (war generators) towards the new models (peace generators) is what we need. Peace and consensus mean human development and this includes everything else: clean food, clean water, green energy, health.

Peace is not the aim, but a vital condition for cooperation to build a happy world. The aim of peace making or diplomacy is, first of all, building peace and balance in individual brains, across cultures and borders. It identifies human intentions correctly and succeeds in healing or re-programming the “human software” in a positive, universal way.